With apologies for the ESPN.com Page 2 rip-off, it's time for Makin' it Better: the European Union flag:

OLD



The classic EU flag, its 12 stars don't represent member nations (there being 15 current members, 10 "new" members, and another three with applications out), but rather the "number twelve is traditionally the symbol of perfection, completeness and unity," this according to the EU website. By using numerology and not the number of states, the EU website claims that "[t]he flag will therefore remain unchanged regardless of future EU enlargements."

Which brings us to:

NEW



This prototype for a new EU flag is by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, asked to come up with a new flag at the behest of EU president Romano Prodi. Koolhaas was going for a single image to represent Europe's diversity and unity, and thought of using all the EU member flag colors in linear form. To me it looks like a UPC representation for an acid trip, but then again I've never won the Pritzker Prize.

Thoughts and votes, should you be so motivated, are welcome via email.